Donovan McNabb was off-target. The receivers dropped balls. And the running game was non-existent.

Ten first downs. 37 yards on the ground. Three for 12 on third down. Ugly numbers all around.

And the defense wasn't much better. Sean McDermott's unit got no pressure on Tony Romo, who picked the Eagles apart right from the first offensive snap, setting the tone with a nine-play, 80-yard drive to open the game.

Romo was 24-for-34 for 311 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Three different Cowboys receivers (Miles Austin, Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton) had more than 75 yards.

On the ground, Dallas gashed the Eagles for 182 yards, averaging a ridiculous 6.3 yards per carry.

And so it's back to the drawing board for McDermott, Marty Mornhinweg and Andy Reid. Because in six or seven days, the Eagles will be back in Dallas to do it again.

The setup goes like this: The Eagles face the Cowboys in the first round. If they win, they'll go to New Orleans to take on the Saints in the divisional round. And if they somehow come out of that one, they'll go on the road against either Minnesota, Green Bay or Arizona in the NFC championship.

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Sheil Kapadia is in his fifth season writing about the Eagles and the NFL for philly.com. His earliest
memories as a sports fan include several trips to Veterans Stadium with
his Dad. He's not a beat writer or an Insider, but is here to
discuss the NFL 365 days a year. E-mail him at skapadia@philly.com or
by clicking here